Drier



Dec. 26, 1922.

W. E. HASELTINE.

DRIER.

FILED NOV. 10, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

Dec. 26, 1922. 4 1,439,702. W. E. HASELTINE.

DRIER.

FILED NOV. 10, 1921. 3 SHEETSSHEE12.

Patented Dec. 2%, lQZZO r UNETEE nane earner WILLIAM E. HASELTINE, OF RIPON, WISCONSIN.

DRIER.

Application filed November 10, 1921.

To all 107mm it may concern:

Be it known that l. 'ILLIAM E. HASEL- rum, a citizen of the United States. and a resident of Ripon, in the county of Fond du Lac and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Driers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to. the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invent-ion relates to improvements in driers and consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The object of the invention is to produce a drier which is simple and economical in construction; which may be manufactured at comparatively low cost from parts and formswhich are standard and readily to be had on the market; which is capable of continuously operating at a maximum of efficiency at 10w cost; and which requires but a single operator to run it at the said maximum of eliiciency.

The novel features of the invention, as hereinafter described and illustrated, are embodied in a drier primarily designed for the drying of hosiery. but a drier embodying said features,'either in whole or in part, maybe used or designed for drying other goods, as will be easily apparent to those familiar with the art.

The many advantages of the improved drier will appear as I proceed with my specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the improved drier with parts of the casing broken away to show the interior arrangement;

Figure 2 is a view representinga vertical, transverse; section through the drier in a plane indicated by the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a part vertical section, on an enlarged scale, through Figure 2 is a plane indicated by the line 3-3 of 2;

Figure lis a vertical, transverse section through the drier in a plane indicated by the line {l a of Fig. 1;

Figure 5 is a part vertical section, on an enlarged scale, through Fig. a in a plane indicated by the line 5--5 of Fig... l;

[Figure dis a detail view in side elevation of the conveyor chain;

Serial N0. 514,178.

Figure 7 is a section through Fig. 6 in a plane indicated by the line 7--7 of Fig. 6;

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of part of the trackfor the conveyor.

Referring now to that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings: The drier mechanism, for the larger part, is preferably enclosed as shown in a casing 10. which provides support for the conveyor mechanism. Said casing has upright supporting legs 11. The casing has side, end, top and bottom walls and is preferably made of sheet metal. The legs 11 are formed of channel bars which extend to the top of the casing and furnish support for the parts within the casing.

12 indicates an endless chain conveyor, which travels through the compartment provided by the casing, in a plurality of horizontal laps, 12 12", 12, 12 ,the bottom lap 12 extending out through an opening in an end wall of the casing towards an operators table 13, at which the conveyor chain continues as, an upwardly inclined lap 12 towards the top lap 12, entering the casing through a suitable opening near thetop of the aforesaid end wall of the casing". Guide plates 12* and 12?, the one 12 extending the full length of the inclined lap 12 and the other, 12*, a short distance at the top of said lap, are supported. at each side of the conveyor.

" The chain conveyor 12 consists of two horizontally spaced sprocket chains 14, 14, with anti-friction rollers on the pintles connecting the links of the chains. The alternate links of each chain (see Figures 6 and '4') are provided with horizontal lips 15 on the inside of the chains and the two chains are connected by a plurality of ll-shaped bars 1'6,the base of the U being attached at its ends to the opposite lips 15 of the chains. and the arms of the ll-bars being located in planes extending at right angles to the path of the chains. To each lip 15 is also attached an. angular arm or finger 17. which has a part 17? extending parallel to the chain and its end fixed to the bottom of the said lip 15 and a part 1.7 which extends at right angles to the length of the chain and parallel to the plane of the proximate i l-shaped bar 16. The parts 17 of the bars It? are somewhat. shorter than-the upright members of the tl-bars 16 and with said bars provide a succession of open pockets onthe chain conveyor to receive the Mill ' loops 33 (see Figures 1,

stretched the sprocket wheels 19, 20 and 21 are fixed re-' spectively on horizontal shafts 19 2O and 21 which are mounted in suitable bearing boxes 19", 20 and 21 supported on the side walls of the casing. As shown, said side walls are braced by longitudinally extending horizontal channel bars 22, 23, 24, 25"

and the bearing boxes 19", 20* are attached to the top channel bars 22, while the bear ing boxes 21 are attached to the channel bars 24;

The channel bars 24 are extended for= wardly through and beyond the front end wall of the casing towards the table 13, near which they provide support for the sprocket wheels 18, which are fixed on a horizontal shaft 18 mounted in bearing boxes as in the case of the other sprocket.

wheels. The bottom channel bar 25 is likewise extended towards the table 13 and the forward ends of said bars 24 and 25 are supported by upright posts 26.

Intermediate the sprocket wheels 19 and- 20 the sprocket chains of the top lap 12 of the conveyor are supported by longitudinally extending parallel rails 27 (seev Figure 4)- which are fixed to angle bars, 28 carried at the" top ends of short, vertical bars 29 aiiixed at each side of the conveyor, to transverse, horizontal bais 30 supported on the channel bars 22. The sprocket chains of the lap 12 7 of the conveyor are sup ported on rails 31 carried by angle bars 32 attached to the bottom ends of the aforesaid bars 29. The rails 27 and 31 are narrow bars which fit betweenthe parallel links of the sprocket chainsland engage the rollers of said chains. Identical supports are provided for the laps 12 and 12 of the conveyor, like parts being indicated by like numerals. I r

To, support the conveyor at the loop connecting the laps 12 and 12 I provide track 3 and 8); said track loops each consists of a semi-circular bar, having an offset extension 33 adapted for attaching it to the angle bar 32 of the lap 12", and a rail 34 fixed on its outer surface and abutting the end of the rail31.

The bottom ends of the loop 33 and of the rails 34 terminate above the ends of the rails 27 of the lap 12 in such manner that as the sprocket chain passes about the loop 33 it will be engaged on the inside by the rails 34 on said loop until it reaches the ends of said rails 27, when it will be engaged on the outside by said rails 27,-thepr0ximate ends of the two rails being spaced apart vertically just sufiicient distance for the sprocket chain to pass between them. The are of each semi-circular loop'is described about a center coincident with the common central axis of the pulleys 42.

The bottom end of the loop 33 is supported by meansof a lateral extension 35,

whichis attached to an upright bracket 36 secured to the channel bar 24. The loop 33 is inade of a flat bar which may yield to adjust it to fill out the loop of the sprocket chain and take up slack in said chain, and for pur oses of such adjustment is provided a rod attached to the extension 35 and extendin outwardly throughthe front end wallof t 'e casing, where it is threaded to receive an adjusting thumb-nut or head 38'. By turning the thumb-nut, in engagement with the casing, said rod may be moved longitudinally to take up slack in the chain. In order to prevent the hosiery forms from falling from the conveyorwhen the pocket openings provided by the U-shaped bars 16 and the bars or fingers 17 are presented downwardly or inverted as when traveling alon the laps12 and 12 (see Figure 1), endless belts 39 and 40 are located below said laps respectively. The belts in each case consist of two narrow, endless bands located substantially in the vertical planes of the sprocket chains of the conveyor 12 and are supported,the belts 39, on narrow pulleys 41, 42, and the belts 40, on pulleys 43, 44. The said pul leys are fixed on shafts 41, 42, 43*, 44", respectively as shown and the several shafts are mounted in suitable bearings supported ure 2). are located immediately below said top laps of the belts 39, 39 and of the belts 40, 40 respectively, said laps resting directly on said rails. The rails are supported by means of blocks '47 (see Figures 3 and 5), placed underneath the rails at suit- ,able intervals along their length, and carried on transverse channel bars 48 supported on the longitudinal channel bars 23, 23 and 25, 25. To retain the belts on the rails and prevent them from lateral dis placement, each belt has a plurality "of longitudinally spaced clips 49 which have depending ears for engagement with the sides of the rails.

To support the hosiery forms or boards on the conveyor as it turns about the sprockets 20 "and 21, and before'it reaches points where the belts 39 and-4O provide such support, curved guard rails 50, 50 and 51,

The conveyor 12 and supporting belts 39, d0 are driven as follows: At the front of the apparatus and below the projecting ends of the channel bars 24 and 25 is located a platform52 on which is mounted a small motor Said motor is connected to drive a gear reduction set 54. The shaft 18 is provided at one end with a sprocket wheel 55 (shown in dotted lines) which is connected by a sprocket chain 56'to said reduction set. By this means the endless con-' veyor is driven, the high speed of the motor being reduced so that the conveyor travels at the required slow speed.

The shaft 18 is provided with a sprocket wheel 57 on the end opposite that which carries the sprocket wheel The shaft 42 of the belts 39 is extended through the sidewall of the casing 10, beyond which it is provided with a sprocket wheel 58. A like-sprocket wheel 59 is fixed on the shaft 44 of the belts 40,the sprocket wheels 58, 59 and 57 being all located in the same Vertical plane and being of the same size. A sprocket chain 60 is engaged about the sprocket wheelsi58, 59 and is held in engagement againstthe bottom side of the sprocket wheel 57 by a small idler sprocket wheel 61 mounted on a bracket arm 62 fixed to the channel bar 24:. By this means move ment is imparted to both pairs of belts 39 and 40 so that their active top laps will travel in the same direction and at the same speed as the lap of the conveyor with which they are associated.

The compartment provided by the casing is divided into upper and lower chambers bymeans, of a horizontal wall 63 located between the laps 12" and the lap 12 of the conveyor (see Figures 3 and Said wall extends the width'of the casing, being supported at its lateral edges by the channel bars 23, and extends lengthwise of the casing from the pulleys 42, 42 (see Figure near the front end wall of the casing to a point somewhat short of the rear ends of the several laps of the conveyor. A centrifugal blower 64 is located below the bottom wall of the casing and midway between the planes of the side walls of said casing (see Figures 1 and 2). The discharge pipe 65 of the blower opens through a. tale 66 located in the front end wallet the casingnear its bottom. 67 indicatesthe return pipe of the blower which connects with the casing througha hole 68 in one of the side 65 walls of the casing at the top and near the front end. A branch pipe 69 leading to an.

exhaust fan(not shown), is connected to .j unction. The blower 64 is driven as shown,

by a motor 72.

In the bottom of the casing there is located a heating coil 73,'which extends sub stantially the length of the casing and is located between the belts 40, 40. Air is forced by the blower 64 overthe heating coils in a path below the longitudinal partition .wall 63 towards the rear end of the casing until it reaches the rear end of the partition wall, at which point it travels upwardly and then forwardly towards the front end of the casing, where (depending upon the positions of the dampers T0 and 71) part of it is directed through the pipe 67 to the blower 64 and part of it-is withdrawn through the pipe 69 by the aforesaid exha-ust fan to which said pipe 69 leads. Such part of the air as is withdrawn through the pipe 69 from the circulating system, is replaced by air drawn into the casing through the openings for the conveyor in the frontend wall of the casing. In this manner the humidity of the air in the casing may be regulated and controlled, and a continuous circulation of air in the drier is maintained.

Theoperation of the drier will be apparent to those familiar with the art, from the foregoing description. The operator stands at the table 13 and stretches the goods to be dried, in this case hosiery, over forms or boards (eaclrform being held during the stretching operation in a holder as shown in dotted lines at 75) and then places them on the conveyor 12,each form with a stocking upon it,--in one of. the pockets provided by the U-shaped bars 16 and their associated fingers 17. The speed of the conveyor is regulated to travel at a rate of speed to be determined by the nature of the goods to be dried and the length of time required for stretching the goods on the forms.

The wet goods are carried up to the inclined lap 12 of the conveyor into the dry-' ing chamber provided by the casing 10. The guard rail 12 provides an end closure for the pockets on one side of the inclined lap 12". while the shorter guard rail 12* acts to strike any form which projects beyond the conveyor on its side and force it back into proper position on the conveyor. As the conveyor reaches the rear of the drying chamber and passes around the sprocket wheels 20 to continue as the lap 12", the forms are prevented from falling from the pockets of the conveyor by the curved guard rails 50 and then by the top laps of the belts 39, which, as has been pointed out, travel at the same rate of speed &

' as the conveyor passes about the loop rails 34. connecting the rails on which the laps 12 and 1:2 of the conveyor are supported. The goods then travel with the conveyor a second time towards the rear end of the drying chamber on the lap 12- of the couveyor. whence they are returned forwardly on the bottom lap lf=2 .-being prevented from falling from the pockets by the guard rails 51 and then by the upper laps of the belts .40, as before.

While in the apparatus illustrated, the conveyor is shown with only four laps, so that the goods are caused to travel four times (twice towards the rear and twice towards the front) through the drying chamber, it is manifest'that the. apparatus may be designed so that the goods will travel back and forth through the drying chamber as many times as desired. This will depend upon the permissible height and length of the drying chamber. the rate of speed of the conveyor, the spacing of the pockets on the conveyor and the length '01" time required to dry the goods for which the drier is designed.

The bottom lap 12 -of the conveyor carries the goods on the top laps of the belts 40 out of the drying chamber to the operators table 13, upon which they are discharged beyond the pulleys The operator then removes the dried goods from the entire operation of the drier.

The mechanism of the drier need not be enclosed in a specially built casing, but apparently may be suitably supported in any existing hot room, with a vertical partition provided to take the place of the front end wall ofthe casing and to divide ofi' aspace to be occupied by the operator. Again, the heating means and the'manner of and devices for circulating the hot air may be changed or varied to suit conditions or to make use of convenient heating and circu lating means at hand.

Thus while in describing my invention I have referred to many details of mechanical construction and arrangement, it is to be understood that the invention is in no way limited thereto, except as may be pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention 1. In a drier, in combination with a heat ing chamber, an endless conveyor traveling back and forth through said chamber in a plurality of vertically spaced laps, said conveyor being provided with a plurality of transverse, open'pockets arranged in longitudinal succession thereon, and means movlocated below the lap or laps of the conveyor on which said pockets are inverted and adapted to support the contents of said pockets.

3. In a drier, in combination with a heating chamber, an endless conveyor traveling back and forth through said chamber in a plurality of vertically spaced laps, said conveyor being provided with a plurality of transverse, open pockets arranged in longitudinal succession thereon, means moving with the speed of said conveyor, located below the lap or laps of the conveyor on which said pockets are inverted and adapted to support the contents of said pockets, and fixed guard rails for engaging the contents of the pockets at the loop or loops of the conveyor where the pockets open outwardly from the center of the loop joining two laps of the conveyor.

4. In a drier, in combination with a heating chamber, an endless conveyor traveling back and forth through said chamber in a plurality of vertically spaced laps, said conveyor being provided with .a plurality of transverse, open pockets arranged in longitudinal succession thereon, means moving.

with the speed of said conveyor, located below the lap or laps of the conveyor on which said pockets are inverted and adapted to support the contents ofsaid pockets, fixed guard rails for engaging the contents of the pockets at the loop or loops of the conveyor where the pockets open outwardly from the center of the loop joining the laps,of the conveyor, and means moving 'with the speed of the conveyor for supporting the contents of the pockets at the loop or loops of the conveyor where the I transverse, open pockets arranged in 1ongitudinal succession thereon, endless belts with laps traveling at the speed of and in the same direction as the conveyor, located below the laps of the conveyor on which the pockets are inverted, fixed tracks for supporting the several laps of said conveyor,

said conveyor consisting of latera sprocket wheels for supporting the loops of said conveyer on which the pockets are turned away from the centers of said loops, and fixed rail loops for supporting the loop of said conveyor where the pockets are turned toward the center of said loop.

6. In a drier, in combination with an endless conveyor traveling back and forth in a plurality of vertically spaced laps, said conveyer being provided with a plurality of transverse, open pockets arranged in longitudinal succession thereon, endless belts with laps traveling at the speed of and in the same direction as the conveyor, located below the laps of the conveyor on which the pockets are inverted, fixed tracks for supporting the several Iaps of said conveyor, sprocket wheels for supporting the loops of said conveyor on which 'the pockets are turned away from the centers of said loops,

fixed rail loops for supporting the loop of said conveyor where the pockets are turned toward the center of said loop, and means for adjusting said rail loops to take up slack in said conveyor.

7 In a drier, in combination with an end les s' conveyor traveling back and forth in vertically spaced laps connected. by a loop,

1 y spaced roller chains, fixed rails engaged with said rollers, the rails on one lap on top of said rollers and the rails on the other lap beneath said rollers, and loop rails connected to. and forming continuations 'of the first named rails, said loop rails terminating short of and above the proximate ends of said second named rails.

8. In a drier, in combination with an endless conveyor traveling back and forth in vertically spaced laps connected by a loop,

said conveyor consisting of laterally spaced roller chains fixed rails engaged with said rollers, the rails on one lap on top of said rollers and the rails on the other lap beneath said rollers,loop rails connected to and forming continuations of the first named rails, said loop rails terminating short of and above the proximate ends of said second named rails, and means for adjusting said loop rails to take up slack in said conveyor chains.

9. An endless conveyor comprising laterally spaced chains, U-sh'aped bars having bases extending transversely of said chains and attached to opposing links of the two chains with the leg of the U extending at right angles to the length of the chains, and

bears spaced from and extending parallel to the legs of each U-bar and attached to the same links.

10. An endless conveyor comprising laterally spaced roller chains, means providing a plurality of transverse, open pockets arranged in succession on said conveyor, each pocket comprising a U-shaped bar with a base spanning said chains and with the legs of the U extending at right angles to the length of said conveyor, opposite links on said chain being provided with ears to which the ends of said base are attached, and fingers spaced from and extending parallel to the legs of said U, said fingers having angular extensions attached to the ears of the links to which the associated U-bar is attached.

11. In a drier, an endless conveyor comprising parallel, laterally spaced roller chains and means for holding them in spaced relation, said conveyor traveling back and forth in vertically spaced laps, vertically spaced rails engaging beneath the rollers of the chains of the two laps of the conve or, angle bars carrying said rails, upright ars extending between and connected to said angle bars, transverse bars located between said angle bars and attached .to said upright bars, and means supporting the ends of said transverse bars.

--12. In combination with a conveyor traveling back and forth in a plurality of vertically spaced laps, said conveyor being provided' with a plurality of transverse, open pockets arranged in succession longitudinally of said conveyor, means for supporting the contents of said pockets, located below the laps of said conveyor on which said pockets are inverted, comprising parallel, laterally spaced" endless belts with laps traveling at the speed of and in the same direction asthe conveyor on the lap aforesaid, and supporting rails engaged with the bottom sides of the said laps of the belts, said belts being provided with clips having parts depending at the edges of the belts and engaged with the edges of the said rails.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 4th day of November, A. D. 1921.

WILLIAM E. nasnnrnrn.

I Witnesses:

H. A. CODY, C. Sonvason; 

